Crytek has created a solid foundation they now need to build on

Ryse: Son of Rome is the best looking next-generation video game on either the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One .

Sure, The PlayStation 4 has Killzone: Shadowfall, but even it doesn’t look as good as Ryse does. I guess we should have expected nothing less from Crytek, the game’s developers, since they have a reputation for setting the video game visual standard every few years with a new blockbuster game.

Unfortunately Ryse’s gameplay doesn’t match its impressive visuals. Ryse is far from a bad game, it just suffers from a few glaring issues that might ruin the experience for some players.

One of Ryse’s major issues is it funnels the player down a linear path. While I understand why this might frustrate some gamers, as I’ve gotten older and now have less time on my hands for gaming, I’ve started to appreciate video games that tell you where to go and what to do. Open-world sandbox games are great, but sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and allow the game to take you on its journey.

This is exactly what Ryse does and even though it’s a third-person hack-and-slash action title, it reminded me a lot of the Call of Duty franchise, another title that adopts this gameplay approach. The player is thrown into the game and bombarded with explosions, cool set pieces and a constant barrage of enemies.

Unfortunately it’s difficult to tell which direction to go at times, because the game doesn’t always make where you need to move or what you need to do next, obvious enough. Over the course of Ryse, I ended up running around in circles on a few occasions because I couldn’t tell what object I needed to jump over or smash through.

Ryse’s main problem is its combat system gets repetitive rather quickly. The first few times you slice through your foes is a thrilling experience. Ryse’s violent dismemberment is impressive, but after you chop up the body parts of your hundredth enemy, the game’s impressive death sequences start to get boring and become nothing more than colour coordinated quick-time events.

The only variety thrown into the game is when you encounter different enemy types. Taking out regular barbarians, who hold a sword and shield, is much easier than it is to dispatch heavy enemies that hold an axe and larger heavier shield. Certain enemies require a different combat approach adding some much needed variety to Ryse: Son of Rome.

When an enemy is almost dead, a skull appears over their head, giving the player the opportunity to execute a finishing kill by pressing the Xbox One controller’s right trigger. A scripted sequence then begins, prompting the player to press either Y, X or B, depending on what colours flash on the screen.

This system isn’t horrible but once you get about halfway through the game, it starts to get boring. Also, regardless of whether or not you press the correct button in the proper timing, you still receive some sort of bonus, removing the need for skill and precision from the combat equation. It would have been great if Crytek had somehow managed to throw more variety and made the game’s quick-time events count for more when it comes to game’s fighting system.

Even if you aren’t a fan of Ryse’s gameplay, it’s difficult to deny how awesome the game looks visually.

Still, it’s important to keep in mind that part of the game’s repetitive nature is the fault of the hack-and-slash genre and not just Ryse. I’ve never understood how someone could criticise Ryse’s repetitive nature, yet rave about the God of War series, a franchise that’s arguably just as repetitive. God of War’s combat system does have slightly more depth to it though. Hopefully Crytek expands on the solid base they’ve created with Ryse in terms of gameplay mechanics.

The ability to receive either money, health or experience upgrades from performing a finishing move is a nice touch, but I found Ryse’s character upgrade system to be mostly useless. Even though I spent XP and money, I didn’t feel like my character’s capabilities really advanced over the course of the game.

Also, the health upgrade makes the game extremely easy. Whenever I was low on health, I simply performed a few finishing moves and quickly refilled my health bar. Also the ability to slow down and use the “vision” ability, is cool, but also removes even more challenge from Ryse. I like my video games easy, but not this easy.

Ryse is violent and bloody.

Ryse’s unique setting is perhaps its best feature. The Roman era isn’t often explored by video games and the fact that Ryse attempts to tell a story grounded loosely in this historical context, is interesting. Although history buffs have criticized the game’s level of historical accuracy.

Son of Rome’s story has a very Gladiator-like feel to it, but since it’s such a great film, this isn’t exactly a complaint. Ryse follows Marius Titus, a Roman gladiator who witnesses the murder of his family. He then joins the Roman army and rises through its ranks over the course of the game. The game’s plot line is simple, but also effective and entertaining. I would even go so far as to say its simplicity makes Ryse’s story feel more refreshing. Often video game stories try to take on too much and end up becoming a confusing, convoluted mess. With Ryse, this isn’t the case at all.

While they might not exactly be historically accurate, Ryse’s battles are quite the spectacle.

Ryse: Son of Rome also has a cooperative multiplayer mode allowing two players to work together to take out onslaughts of enemies. While I didn’t spend a significant amount of time with Ryse’s multiplayer mode, I enjoyed what I experienced. Now if only Microsoft could fix the Xbox One’s shoddy party system.

Ryse: Son of Rome is far from perfect, but I had a good time with the game despite its repetitive nature. With Ryse, Crytek has created a solid game engine that seems like it was designed to be expanded and turned into a franchise. If Ryse ends up becoming a series, hopefully future iterations of the franchise add more variety into the mix.